New Website Launched for Visionary Fry Street Quartet

August 11, 2016

Verismo Communications announces the launch of a new website for the visionary Fry Street Quartet, who are working on the vanguard of collaborative classical music.

The FSQ's signature is an interdisciplinary collaboration joining science and art. The Crossroads Project aims to inspire reflection, foster engagement and incite action at a pivotal moment for our environment. In the live performance experience, and now on the album to be released this fall, the Fry Street Quartet brings together commissioned works by Grammy winner Libby Larsen and Pulitzer Prize nominee Laura Kaminsky to create a thought-provoking, viscerally affecting exploration of global sustainability. 

Learn more about the Fry Street Quartet

Jamie Barton Makes 'Powerhouse' Glimmerglass Debut

July 24, 2016

Photo by Karli Cadel

““Imbuing Elizabeth Proctor with both staunchness and fragility falls to mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton, whose marvelous timbre and expressive delivery never falter.” NEW YORK UPSTATE”

Mezzo Jamie Barton makes her Glimmerglass Festival debut as Elizabeth Proctor in Robert Ward's Pulitzer Prize-winning The Crucible, based on Arthur Miller's play about the 1692 Salem witch trials.

She joins baritone Brian Mulligan, tenor Jay Hunter Morris, and bass-baritone David Pittsinger, in a Francesca Zambello production helmed by Nicole Paeiment. Performances run through August 27, with tickets available on the Glimmerglass website.

Read more reviews: 

"The mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton, whose voice is majestically plush yet somehow always articulate, even conversational, made much of Elizabeth’s hurt and dignity."
The New York Times

"Powerhouse mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton is Elizabeth Proctor, the faithful wife wounded by her husband’s sole indiscretion. She sang gloriously, whether pathos or outrage."
Blasting News

"Mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton, as Elizabeth Proctor, has a sweeping scene in which she pledges devotion to her husband but also demands his faithfulness. As her voice leaps across the extremes of range and emotions, Barton remains solid as a rock."
Albany Times Union

“Jamie Barton and Brian Mulligan play Elizabeth and John Proctor, and they bring their seasoned powers to the opera. The two singers sing beautifully and their acting is so very truthful and heartbreaking they convince us that these two are worlds apart. In every musical phrase and pause they portray the moment-to-moment yearning of these two souls who cannot express their love or heal the brokenness of their dreams.”
DC Theatre Scene

“Glimmerglass cast it powerfully, with Brian Mulligan and Jamie Barton in redoubtable vocal form as the Proctors…”
Washington Post

"Ward’s portrait is built on incisive musical character development. Glimmerglass fielded a superb cast. Two powerhouse singers, Brian Mulligan and Jamie Barton, anchored the piece as the beleaguered John and Elizabeth Proctor.."
Wall Street Journal

Amanda Majeski Sings Strauss Heroine at Santa Fe Opera

July 24, 2016

Image via Santa Fe Opera

““Majeski sings from the heart in a role that’s a semi-composite of the composer’s great heroines, the Marschallin and Ariadne. It’s a limpid, lucid portrayal, nowhere more distinctive than in the searching final monologue, Strauss’ most enraptured.” SANTA FE REPORTER”

Soprano Amanda Majeski returns to Santa Fe Opera as the Countess in Capriccio, the opera Richard Strauss called his "conversation piece for music." She is joined by the legendary mezzo Susan Graham, as well as bass-baritone David Govertsen, tenor Ben Bliss, and baritone Joshua Hopkins.

Conducted by Leo Hussain in a new Tim Albery production, performances run July 23 through August 19, 2016. Tickets can be purchased on the Santa Fe Opera website. 
 

Read more reviews: 

“Everything revolves around the Countess. Soprano Amanda Majeski portrays her with casual charm and sincere warmth, creating a character in control of her world and secure in her situation. Politesse is so deeply imbued in her character that she carries it without the slightest self-consciousness. Majeski’s soprano is tightly focused, her intonation is spot-on and her delivery rolls forth with conversational naturalness. Her timbre is pure, sometimes approaching a “white sound” that allows prominence to head resonance. Her vocalism harks back to a kind of singing we don’t encounter much today. If you heard her pure timbre and pristine diction on a recording, you might guess it was an opera star of the 1940s or ’50s — and a fine one. Her singing has a reined-in quality that proves apt for the portrayal she has crafted. A slight quiver enters her voice now and again, adding a quality of wistfulness. It adds to the vulnerability she allows herself to display in her touching final scene, where she recognizes that her aesthetic elegance is a barrier to her own emotional fulfillment — an acknowledgment she bares to herself alone, out of view and earshot from anyone else. [Some] had trouble being heard in a couple of climactic phrases, though not Majeski, whose tone penetrated the texture without sacrificing its beauty."
Santa Fe New Mexican

"The rising soprano Amanda Majeski sings this touchstone Straussian role with gleaming, resonant tone and insightful musicianship..."
Financial Times

"Amanda Majeski seems pre-destined to play the Countess. Her cool, secure, limpid soprano is just what Strauss had in mind when he endowed the role with lovely conversational passages, airy flights above the staff, and haunting musings on the philosophies of art and music. Ms. Majeski’s pure tone and knowing, fluid delivery harkens back to great Strauss interpreters of the last century, a direct connection to a revered roster of interpreters. Her traversal of the Countess’s last great monologue was a thing of great beauty, infinite variety, and sublime vocalization. Moreover, Majeski has a regal and poised presence, her carriage leaving no doubt that she is “royalty.” Her achievement is such that she may just be unequalled in this part at the moment."
Opera Today

“In the lead role of Countess Madeleine, Illinois soprano Amanda Majeski provided the vocal power required to complement Strauss’s soaring melodies and the elegance appropriate for the gentler music of Madeleine’s introspective moment.”
Opera Warhorses

"As the Countess, Amanda Majeski sang her long phrases with free flowing tones that kept their focus as they blossomed out over the audience. A fabulous Strauss singer whose sound recalls German sopranos of the previous era such as Elizabeth Schwarzkopf and Irmgard Seefried, she she portrayed the noble lady as a refined heiress with consummate good taste."
Bachtrack

“Amanda Majeski turns in a sparkling performance as the glamorous Parisian Countess Madeleine. [The voice] has an exceptional flexibility, easily enough to traverse the many vocal hurdles of this difficult role. She gives the final scene, a last meditation on the question of words and music, a transcendent quality.”
Albuquerque Journal

"As Strauss’ multi-faceted, somewhat enigmatic Countess, Amanda Majeski provides a poised central figure. She’s played the vulnerable aristocrat in the past—Countess Almaviva in Mozart’s Figaro. Here Majeski sings from the heart in a role that’s a semi-composite of the composer’s great heroines, the Marschallin and Ariadne. It’s a limpid, lucid portrayal, nowhere more distinctive than in the searching final monologue, Strauss’ most enraptured."
Santa Fe Reporter

Corinne Winters Makes Debuts in Italy, England in Summer 2016

July 14, 2016

Soprano Corinne Winters makes a series of role and company debuts this summer, beginning with her first Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, sung in concert under the baton of Semyon Bychkov at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. Winters will make her Royal Opera House Covent Garden debut in the same role in fall 2016.

Winters also joins bass-baritone Bryn Terfel in concert with the Welsh National Opera Orchestra at the 2016 Henley Festival. The United Kingdom's only black tie festival, Glamour called Henley "the future of festivals."

The summer season concludes with a concert version of Verdi's Falstaff with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, led by Edward Gardner. Winters sings her first Alice opposite the world's leading Falstaff, Ambrogio Maestri.

Read reviews: 

"Corinne Winters, in peachy voice, offered an impish Alice, leading Windsor's 'Merry Wives' in their plotting to teach Sir John a lesson or two. Deliciously phrased, Winters' Alice is the real deal, soaring in ensemble, sighing in mock adoration at Falstaff's clumsy courting."
Bachtrack

"Corinne Winters’s Alice and Justina Gringyte’s Meg were a fearsome pair: Winters’ soprano soared…"
The Guardian

"Gardner certainly knows how to assemble a cast. Corinne Winters, as Alice Ford, was a perfectly chosen foil for Maestri: all knowing smiles, flashing eyes and sassy self-confidence, with a voice as bright as it was expressive. Falstaff didn't stand a chance."
The Arts Desk

"Corinne Winters and Justina Gringyte were the sexiest Alice and Meg I’ve heard; watchful and witty."
The London Times

Rolando Sanz to Make Metropolitan Opera Debut

June 24, 2016

Photo by Kristin Hoebermann

Tenor Rolando Sanz makes his Metropolitan Opera debut in the 2016/17 season in Mozart's Idomeneo, under the baton of Maestro James Levine. The production will be simulcast in cinemas worldwide via Met Live in HD.

Sanz returns to the Met roster for productions of Verdi's La traviata, Strauss's Salome, and Beethoven's Fidelio. Sanz also sings Beethoven works in concert as tenor soloist in the Mass in C Major and Choral Fantasy with Spoleto Festival USA and as tenor soloist in Beethoven's 9th Symphony with the Asheville Symphony.

For tickets and more information, visit www.rolandosanz.com.

Jamie Barton Makes Acclaimed Royal Opera House Covent Garden Debut

June 9, 2016

Photo by Catherine Ashmore for Royal Opera House

This month, mezzo Jamie Barton made her Royal Opera House Covent Garden debut as Fenena in Verdi's Nabucco, opposite Plácido Domingo in the title role.

The second performance was shown via live, free outdoor relays as part of the BP Big Screens initiative, and was watched by fans around the world via the ROH YouTube live stream.

The cast also stars Liudmyla Monastyrska, John Relyea, and Leonardo Capalbo. Conducted by Maurizio Benini, performances run through June 25. Tickets are available on the Royal Opera House site.

Domingo, Monastyrska, and Barton will also appear in the Metropolitan Opera 2016/17 production of Nabucco, conducted by James Levine.

Read reviews:

"Jamie Barton is a first-rate Fenena."
The Guardian

"Jamie Barton as Fenena reveals a rich and full mezzo-soprano that is also capable of displaying great sensitivity."
musicOMH

“Making her Royal Opera debut as Nabucco’s true daughter, the American mezzo uncovered a good deal more in Fenena, impressing with her warmth and richness of tone matched by a purposeful line and convincing dramatic engagement.”
Opera

"I wish the score had provided more opportunities for the young lovers Ismael and Fenena – what little Jean-François Borras and Jamie Barton did as Ismaele and Fenena was very fine."
The Telegraph

"Jamie Barton made a promising Covent Garden début as Fenena, showing good timbre and nice control of line. Fenena and Ismaile are considerably lesser roles than the other three, but Barton and Jean-François Borras made a good fist of them, particularly effective in ensemble."
BachTrack

"Jamie Barton and stand-in tenor Jean-François Borras play lovers Fenena and Ismaele; the former in beautiful voice…"
Londonist

"Making her debut with the Royal Opera, American mezzo Jamie Barton seizes her lyrical opportunities as Nabucco’s true offspring Fenena."
The Stage

“Monastyrska’s Abagaille had a worthy rival for once. Admittedly Fenena is a sketchy role: Verdi had not yet fully realized the value of contrasting or opposing females, the structure that grounds Trovatore or Aida. But this Fenena was Cardiff Singer of the World in 2013 and the winner of last year’s Richard Tucker Award, the redoubtable Jamie Barton in her Royal Opera debut. This was luxury casting indeed, affording the extraordinary pleasure of watching and listening as, in the finale of the first act, each ‘sister’ anchored opposite sides of the stage and soared over the ensemble.”
Opera

Amanda Majeski Returns to Glyndebourne

May 25, 2016

Photo by Tristram Kenton

““Amanda Majeski’s ravishingly sung Eva radiates disembodied beauty.” THE INDEPENDENT”

Soprano Amanda Majeski returned to the Glyndebourne Festival as Eva in Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, opposite Gerald Finley as Hans Sachs.

The handsome David McVicar production, in which Majeski had previously starred at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, also features Michael Schade, Jochen Kupfer, Alastair Miles, David Portillo, and Hanna Hipp.

Performances run through June 27; tickets can be purchased via the Glyndebourne site.

Read reviews:

“Amanda Majeski made the best Eva I have heard in years, true of pitch and pure of tone, comfortable in all reaches of the part and emotionally persuasive from beginning (fidgeting in the church pew) to end (despair at Walther’s initial rejection of the Guild). The radiant B flat with which she crowned the quintet was perfection.”
Opera Magazine

"Amanda Majeski’s ravishingly sung Eva radiates disembodied beauty under the cobbler-poet Sachs’s benediction."
The Independent

"Amanda Majeski is a lovely, silvery-voiced Eva."
Financial Times

"Amanda Majeski (Eva) and Hanna Hipp (Magdalene) both demonstrated those qualities [passion and ardor] abundantly towards Walther and David as the respective objects of their romantic affections; indeed, vocally, they were very similar in tone and excellence."
Classical Source

"Majeski’s voice has an inhaled ease to it, blooming with no obvious strain or overwork."
The Arts Desk

"Amanda Majeski’s Eva fulfilled most of the promise which she had shown as the Countess in the 2013 Le nozze di Figaro, her touching intonation and unaffected stage presence ideal for Wagner’s ‘little Ev’chen’."
musicOMH

"The American soprano Amanda Majeski was Eva. Reminiscent of Gundula Janowitz, she launched the quintet exquisitely and looked very pretty to boot."
The Telegraph

Jamie Barton Lands on Front Page of Wall Street Journal

May 20, 2016

““He picks up the wabbit and he thinks, ‘Oh, no, I’ve actually killed it.’ This is the wonderful thing about opera. It’s the musical embodiment of the whirlwind of emotions of human beings, right?” JAMIE BARTON”

Jamie Barton, along with three Washington National Opera Ring colleagues, appeared on the front page of this weekend's Wall Street Journal, discussing the influence of Bugs Bunny's 'What's Opera, Doc.' Barton was also featured in an accompanying video on the WSJ website.

Read and watch >

Corinne Winters Makes Opernhaus Zürich Debut

May 10, 2016

Photo by Toni Suter

““Able to transport the hearts of the audience with intense, exemplarily restrained artistic power, and incredible vocal qualities and feelings throughout. Corinne Winters is the fragile Mélisande not only superficially, but is also in her timbre an ideal candidate for this traumatized, enigmatic being. Her direct and wonderfully easy and appealing soprano captivates with its evenness, with force or pale fragility according to the mood.” OPER AKTUELL”

Corinne Winters makes her Opernhaus Zürich debut this month as Mélisande in a new Dmitri Tcherniakov production of Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande.

The psychoanalytically inspired production, conducted by Alain Altinoglu, also stars Brindley Sherratt as Arkel, Jacques Imbrailo as Pelléas, and Kyle Ketelsen as Golaud. Performances run through May 29.

Read more reviews:

"Altinoglu’s orchestra plays transparently and elegantly, and the singers on stage follow with corresponding expression and timbre. Above all, Corinne Winters, who, as an inconspicuous drug addict, exudes the fascination of a very exceptional woman in every moment."
Deutschlandradio Kultur

"The two meet each other with an almost beastly, incorporeal hypersensitivity – Corinne Winters and Jacques Imbrailo, both debutants at the Opera House – acting and singing with touching delicacy and entirely skillful empathy for one another. Pelléas understands that a serious, unspoken trauma prevents Mélisande from physically loving even him. Winters plays this with distressing credibility."
Neue Zürcher Zeitung

"Lying on the couch with frightened eyes and a dark, glowing soprano is the American Corinne Winters, who reveals that she has experienced something terrible. Though Golaud increasingly loses his patience with her hints, short sentences, and non-answers, the audience who sees and hears her is fascinated: her acting could not be more on point."
Tages Anzeiger

"That this complex concept is so perfectly implemented by this highly balanced ensemble speaks not only of of their acting talent, but also of Tcherniakov’s extremely precise direction – he has found for each person their own body language. Corinne Winters is an ideal Mélisande, this traumatized young woman who – we imagine – experienced something terrible in her childhood. Here again the fabulous artist: Corinne Winters possesses in her clear voice a fine range of colorations that reflect her emotional state of mind. Once dreamy, delicate, velvety, then again disappointed, almost shouting, but never abandoning either the vocal tone or seeming true. Just great."
Der Neue Merker

"The manifestations of trauma are the meat here, and Corinne Winters (Mélisande) played that for all it was worth. She eventually even traded her casual black sweats for a rather unsightly Egyptian caftan; which was incongruous, but hardly as strange as the unkempt hair that made her more of a homeless person than a woman who might win hearts. Nevertheless, win hearts she did."
Bachtrack

“With her warm sounding soprano, Corinne Winters gives us a really impressive Mélisande and acts fantastically. She sings the highest notes with extraordinary ease. Her warm timbre fills the whole opera.”
Plays To See

“Winters can express such fragility with her inflection and ringing soprano.”
Vorarlberger Nachrichten

“Corinne Winters is dazzling. Defiant rejection and vulnerable fragility are equally present in the young American’s portrayal, and in her flexible voice the raw mixes with the seductive. In addition, she had superb diction, as did everyone in this very special, exquisite ensemble.”
Peter Hagmann

“Corinne Winters as Mélisande finds with her versatile soprano the balance between rebellious and helpless responses, her spiritual destruction and the slow extinction of her life force created with touching intensity.”
Beckmesser

“Happily, although there was not a single Frenchman among the cast, the Debussy style of language and voice as one was always there. Corinne Winters, a small, fragile person in a tracksuit, is a lithe and sensitive Mélisande, both childlike and sensual.”
Badische Zeitung

“The singers were very well placed in this colorful Debussy sound, especially the young American Corinne Winters as Mélisande, with many vocal variations and an intensely watchable portrayal of this rewarding soprano role.”
Musik und Theater

Conductor Christopher Allen Recognized by Solti Foundation U.S.

May 3, 2016

Photo by Gabriel Gastelum

Christopher Allen, John L. Magro Resident Conductor at Cincinnati Opera, and Associate Conductor at Los Angeles Opera, has been named as a recipient of a 2016 Solti Foundation Career Assistance Award.

Now in its twelfth year of assisting outstanding young U.S. conductors to further develop their talent and careers, the Solti Foundation U.S. is the foremost organization in the United States dedicated exclusively to helping young conductors.

The mission of the Solti Foundation U.S. is to identify, support and promote emerging young American conductors as they launch their classical careers.

Established in 2000 to honor the memory of Sir Georg Solti by lending significant support to career-ready young American musicians, the Foundation endeavors to seek out those musicians who have chosen to follow a path similar to that followed by Sir Georg himself.

American Western Opera Launches Digital Homestead

April 29, 2016

Riders of the Purple Sage, an American Western opera composed by Craig Bohmler with a libretto by Steven Mark Kohn, will receive its world premiere at Arizona Opera in 2017.

Based on Zane Grey's most famous novel, the story of Riders is remarkably relevant today – tackling issues of women's independence, faith vs. fundamentalism, abuse of power, and guns in society. Complex issues are given human faces, with sharply drawn characters like Jane Withersteen, our morally incorruptible heroine, and Lassiter, the "John Wayne of Opera.”

Riders is a visceral experience that raises Big Questions and allows audiences to seek their own answers through the pure emotional experience of opera. The music style is influenced by Carlisle Floyd, Stephen Sondheim, and Kurt Weill, and utilizes the musical idioms of Western film soundtracks.

The world premiere production will star baritone Morgan Smith (Starbuck in Jake Heggie's Heggie's Moby-dick) as Lassiter, opposite the Jane Withersteen of Karin Wolverton (Anna Sorensen in Kevin Puts's Silent Night). Sets will be designed by famed Southwest landscape artist Ed Mell, with stage direction by Fenlon Lamb and Keitaro Harada conducting.

Corinne Winters Talks Iconic Heroines, Health, and Writing with Schmopera

April 25, 2016

Ahead of her Opernhaus Zürich debut as Mélisande in Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande, Corinne Winters talks with Schmopera about playing those coveted roles, her offstage creative outlets, and how she stays happy and healthy on the road.

"I can relate to all of these iconic heroines (and this is probably why they're iconic!): Desdemona loves bad boys, Mimì is a practical girl with an artistic soul, Tatiana is a bookish romantic, and Donna Anna is a Daddy's girl. That pretty much sums me up! In all seriousness, I think it's the performer's job to be true to the source material while still portraying the contrast and humanity of a character. I vow never, ever to play an archetype.

I don't find that the process changes based on the role, but rather the cast and team. Each production is its own living, breathing entity, and the team dynamic really sets the tone for the process. I love that I can never go on autopilot – I'm forced to stay present with how the process unfolds in that particular moment."

Read more >

Rolando Sanz Brings Andrew Lippa Concept Opera to Strathmore

April 24, 2016

Composer/lyricist Andrew Lippa, Jacquie Sanz, Executive Producer Rolando Sanz, and star Kristin Chenoweth

Executive Producer Rolando Sanz brought the world premiere of Andrew Lippa's latest work, a concept opera called I Am Anne Hutchinson / I Am Harvey Milk, to the Music Center at Strathmore near Washington, D.C. this weekend.

Starring Kristin Chenoweth and composer/lyricist Andrew Lippa, the work deals with two reluctant prophets speaking up for women's rights and gay rights. 

The production was met with critical acclaim, with the Washington Post raving, "This is music as activism, celebratory and inspirational. Strathmore gets very high marks for pulling together this premiere; surely – hopefully – this won’t be the last time Lippa and Chenoweth perform Anne/Harvey with the full battalion of musical support marshaled here."

Featuring forces of 175 musicians, the production was directed by Noah Himmelstein. Before the premiere, Rolando spoke with Classicalite and Broadway World Opera about the experience of mounting the project and the middle-of-the-night stroke of inspiration that led to coining the new "concept opera" genre.

Creative team and cast of I Am Anne Hutchinson / I Am Harvey Milk

Corinne Winters to Make San Diego Opera Debut

April 19, 2016

Corinne Winters will make her San Diego Opera debut in the 2016/17 season, singing her signature role of Violetta in Verdi's La traviata.

Next season, Winters will tackle the famously difficult role in three different productions, also appearing as Violetta at Seattle Opera and at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden.

In San Diego, she will be joined onstage by Joshua Guererro as Alfredo and Stephen Powell as Germont. Stephen Lord conducts Marta Domingo's Roaring Twenties era production.

Performances will run April 22-30, 2017.

Jamie Barton Talks Wagner & Bluegrass with Schmopera

April 12, 2016

Ahead of her Washington National Opera debut as Waltraute/2nd Norn in Götterdämmerung, Jamie Barton talks with Schmopera about Wagner, bluegrass, and her goal to bridge the gap between the art form she grew up loving and the art form she now does on a daily basis.

Barton grew up on a farm, surrounded not by classical music, but by Bluegrass. "That's kind of where I think I got an ear for virtuosic music. I absolutely still love it," she says, enthusiastically. "If I'm ever listening to Bluegrass then I'm probably missing home a little bit." She's a big fan of Chris Thile's music, and his collaborations with the Punch Brothers. "It is everything from Brandenburg Concertos to their own music which sounds at times very traditionalist for Bluegrass, and then at other times," she chuckles, "like Schoenberg had a baby with Earl Scruggs."

Read more >

Jamie Barton to Make Much-Anticipated Atlanta Symphony Debut

April 6, 2016

Jamie Barton will make a long-awaited debut with her hometown orchestra, the Atlanta Symphony, in the 2016/17 season.

Barton will perform Elgar's Sea Pictures on a program that also features soprano Tamara Wilson and baritone Brian Mulligan in the Vaughan Williams A Sea Symphony, a signature piece that won the orchestra three GRAMMY® awards in 2003.

Performances will be November 3 and 5, 2016; tickets will be available via the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra website. Barton will also perform the Elgar, along with other Songs of the Sea, with the Florida Orchestra, before decamping to the dry land of Nabucco at the Metropolitan Opera in December.

Corinne Winters to Bookend Her 2016/17 Season at Royal Opera House

April 6, 2016

Corinne Winters will open her 2016/17 season with her Royal Opera House Covent Garden debut this fall as Fiordiligi in a new Jan Philipp Gloger production of Mozart's Così fan tutte.

She will return to close out her season as Violetta in the beloved Richard Eyre production of La traviata, marking her first London Violetta since her explosion onto the international opera scene in the 2013 English National Opera production.

Così fan tutte performances will run September 22 – October 19, 2016, and will also feature Angela Brower as Dorabella, Daniel Behle as Ferrando, and Alessio Arduini as Guglielmo. The October 17 performance will be screened live in cinemas in over 35 countries.

Winters will appear in La traviata June 27 – July 4, 2017, alongside Atalla Ayan as Alfredo and George Petean as Germont. The July 4 performance will be featured as a live, free relay to several outdoor screens as part of BP Big Screens.

Tickets for both productions will be available via the Royal Opera House website.

Jamie Barton to Sing First Eboli at Deutsche Oper Berlin

March 17, 2016

Photo by Stacey Bode

Jamie Barton will make dual role and house debuts as Princess Eboli in the Italian version of Verdi's Don Carlo at Deutsche Oper Berlin in the 2016/17 season.

Conducted by Roberto Rizzi Brignoli, the cast also stars Liudmyla Monastyrska as Elisabeth, Teodor Ilincai as Don Carlo, Etienne Dupuis as Rodrigo, and Giacomo Prestia as King Philip.

Performances will run June 24 – July 6, 2017, and can be purchased via the Deutsche Oper website.

Learn more >
 

Jamie Barton sings "O don fatale" from Verdi's Don Carlo with the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra in March 2016.

Amanda Majeski to Debut at Washington National Opera on 2016/17 Opening Night

March 8, 2016

Amanda Majeski will make her Washington National Opera debut as the Countess in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro on opening night of the 2016/17 season. 

The Kennedy Center production will complete a trilogy of opening night Figaro performances for Majeski, a run that began at the Metropolitan Opera in 2014 and continued at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 2015.

Majeski will be joined by Lisette Oropesa as Susanna, Joshua Hopkins as Count Almaviva, Ryan McKinny as Figaro, and Aleksandra Romano as Cherubino, under the baton of James Gaffigan in a Peter Kazaras production.

Performances will run September 22 – October 2, 2016, with the September 24 performance simulcast to Nationals Stadium for the popular M&M’S Opera in the Outfield event.

More information >

Photo by Todd Rosenberg

Jamie Barton Featured in Atlanta Magazine

March 4, 2016

Jamie Barton appears in the March issue of Atlanta Magazine, talking about banjos, Bizet, and how the diva mentality has no place in modern opera.

Barton may be an artistic throwback in some ways, but she does not adhere to its accompanying stereotype: She's no diva.

"The diva mentality is very antiquated and has no place in modern opera," she says. "It's a distance that's selfish to your colleagues and your audience members. I prefer to think of us as a big community, a family of people, and you don't hold your family at arm's length."

Read more in the March issue of Atlanta Magazine >

Photo by John Fulton for Atlanta Magazine